Alone Together
by Miss Southern Belle
Summary: After waking up alone in a safe room with a festering wound on her back, Avery is forced to trust a rogue hunter who seems to have more in common with her than she thinks.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, or any of the Infected.

* * *

I'm not sure how long I laid their crying.

It could have only been a few minutes, it could have been hours. There was no way to gauge time inside these stagnant walls. Before there had been others, movement, some kind of way for me to tell just how much longer we had. Now I was alone, completely and utterly alone.

The pain in my chest doubled and my aching body once again found the strength to produce more tears. I was ping-ponging back and forth between the subjects of my depression. At first I had cried simply because I was alone but then the realization sank in that I was most likely going to die in the same state of solitude. This room, which had once been a haven, was now my tomb.

My eyes lingered on the newest message on the wall, a message that only five people in the world would understand. I wondered if whoever found me (if anyone ever did) would associate my corpse with this message. There were so may of them it would probably be hard to tell which one I belonged to, if any.

I winced as the deep gashes along my back pulsated, sending pain through every nerve of my body. Now tears welled in my eyes for another reason. These scratches were a few days old but they hurt as much as they had when they were fresh. I began to wonder if I wasn't turning into a Witch. Here I was alone in a room, crying my eyes out. And there was one person who I would certainly love to rip to shreds right now.

It was his damn fault I had been scratched in the first place. There were five of us, half of the original number that had started out. Four had split and gone their own way only a few days in, while the other six of us had continued on a different path.

Our first casualty was Johnny, a young boy of only seventeen. He'd taken his own life one night while we all slept. We'd burned his body, not wanting to leave it as food for the masses. We'd written a brief memorial to him on the wall and hoped it would be good enough. There was nothing more we could do.

The rest of us had learned to work pretty well together. I was a piss poor shot but learned that, if I had a scope and someone to watch my back, I would easily pick off anything ahead of us. Everything except Witches and Tanks. Tanks were just too damn big to be taken down with one shot and Witches, well, we'd learned to avoid them to the best of our ability whenever we could. It killed me a little more to know that this was one of those situations.

We'd been traveling through the city, looking for the next safe house. Someone had been decent enough to map a route on the wall of our last one and we were getting close. We'd slashed and shot our way through the horde, avoided being Boomered, and had only managed to get caught by one Smoker. A Hunter appeared during all the chaos, but Mike had shoved it away before it could pounce. Eliza shot in it in the leg and in the shoulder. The Hunter had sense enough to run away after that. Things had all been relatively easy, all things considering. That's why we'd all been on our guard, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

That's when we'd heard crying. Her sobs broke through the silence that had surrounded us and we all stood on edge, looking for any sign of her. She was close, so close, but we couldn't see her. I'd pulled out my sniper rifle and taken a look around. That's when I'd spotted her, sitting on the path directly in front of the safe house. There was the other shoe.

But, there was a small glimmer of hope. The safe house was surrounded in front by an open area, which left us plenty of room to walk safely around her if we were all very careful. One of the guys, Mike, volunteered to go first and open the safe house door and cover in case anything else showed up. It seemed like a good plan and we all got to moving.

It only took a few more feet for the Witch to come into view. She sat in the middle of the court yard, crying, her hands over her eyes. We all fell quiet and started walking slowly, looking between the Witch and our destination. Hugging the perimeter Mike crept forward toward the metal door. He made it quickly but hesitated at the door. These doors made noises and you never knew exactly how much it was going to take to startle a Witch.

He pushed the knob slowly and we listened to the creak as it fought against the hinges. All of us watch, fingers itching to grab our guns should the Witch move but she didn't so much as flinch. We heaved a collective (and silent) sigh of relief and continued forward. Elizabetha was next and she crept forward just as cautiously as Mike. Eliza was the book worm librarian before the break out. Now she was our strategist who handled her AK-47 pretty damn well. She was damn good and making pipe bombs too, a talent that none of us questioned.

Rowan was next and she had tip-toed along pretty quickly. She'd been the pretty cheerleader in college before hand, the complete opposite of Eliza. She was over dramatic and talked too much, but she was never afraid to hand over her medpack when someone needed it. She feigned optimism pretty well too. I'd started to come around to her, finding it pretty amusing whenever she burst into cheers whenever she took off a zombies head.

But her shriek of victory that seemed to echo over the area made me hate her almost instantly. Maybe it was the quiet, tense atmosphere that made her voice seem so loud, or maybe it was a natural echo, but it was just too much. Mike and Eliza instantly shushed her and shoved her further back in the room.

The damage had already been done though. DeRoy (our fearless leader) and I watched with horror as the Witch began to stir from her place. She growled briefly, looking around slightly before getting to her feet. The two of us were frozen in place as we watched the zombie queen start to cry again as she began to walk around the area.

I felt a sharp shove on my back followed by a loud "Run!" as DeRoy grabbed his shot gun. No fucking way!

"De, don't-" I shouted but it was too late, he'd already fired his shot.

I know I swore as I pulled my gun from my back. The Witch cried out in pain as she rushed at DeRoy, her long claws at the ready, thirsting for blood. We unloaded our guns but it wasn't enough, she just kept running.

I grabbed for his wrist and we started running for the safe house, praying to God that we could get there in time. But God hadn't been on our side much lately. I screamed as I felt claws tear at my back, my punishment for getting in her way. With my gun in my hand and no melee weapon the only thing to protect my backside was my flimsy medical pack. So much for keeping me safe.

The force of her hit knocked me to the ground just in front of the safe hose door. I saw Mike and Eliza crouched low with Rowan firing over their heads. All three fired until the Witch gave one last agonizing cry before falling limp over DeRoy. The three instantly began to pull us inside, slamming the safe room door shut.

Somehow I was the one took the most damage, even though I wasn't the one she was after. Thanks to the chainsaw on his back, DeRoy only had relatively minor scratches across his back and arms. They would be easy to mend and heal.

The four long gashes had torn straight through my shirt and shredded the skin from my right shoulder blade to my lower back. I couldn't see it but from the looks on my friend's faces I could tell it was bad.

"Geeze Avery..." Elizabetha said as she examined my back. "We're going to have to clean you up. If we aren't careful these will get infected."

In retrospect that was probably the one word that struck fear into the rest of my group, at least part of them. I knew that Eliza was talking about something else, not the Infection that had turned the world into the walking dead. But still, we couldn't be too careful.

Nevertheless, Eliza and Rowan began to pull my shirt off while DeRoy and Mike looked elsewhere to give me some privacy. The girls cleaned out my wound with a bottle of water and the remainder of my shirt. There was little more that could be done. We had no ointment and there weren't enough bandages left to wrap my back and fill the remainder of our medical packs. It would have to be left open that night.

They helped me into a sleeping bag and gave me some painkillers to help me sleep. It didn't surprise me much when I woke up the next day feeling worse than before. I could tell I was running a fever and the look on Eliza's face told me that the scratches were worse. Everyone agreed to wait around for another day. Rowan, Mike, and DeRoy went to look for some clothes, food, and medicine. Elizabetha stayed to keep me company and to clean out my wounds some more. I drifted off to sleep not long later.

When I woke up again the sun was setting and the three had come back from their scavenging trip. I listened to all of them talking in hushed tones. They were worried but not about my health. They were worried that I had caught the Infection, that I would turn into a Witch or one of the more common zombies. I could make out Eliza scolding all of them for thinking like that, telling them that there were a hundred different things that it could be. That with a gapping wound in my back that couldn't be healed or covered it would be a wonder if I _didn't_ catch something.

I sighed, feeling the fever catching up with me. There was a bundle of clothes and some antibacterial cream sitting in a bag beside me. I was glad they'd found something. I hoped that, in the morning, I would feel better. I drifted in and our a little as they fixed food. Rowan took her turn helping me eat the canned beans that they'd managed to heat up. The fed me more pills and I was asleep again.

That was the last time I saw any of them.

I woke up again this morning, alone in the safe room we'd fought so hard to get in. I was confused when I didn't see any sign of them. Most of the ammo was gone and there weren't any medpacks left. A sinking feeling settled into my stomach as I lifted myself up to look around. That's when I saw the message on the wall.

_Avery, _

_I'm sorry we left. I tried to get them to wait another day but they couldn't wait._

_When you feel better get up and head north. There might still be a working evac station there._

_I'll try to stall them so you can keep up. God's speed to you my friend._

_Mike_

I had been crying ever since. They had left me alone in a land of the dead with only my will to keep me going. But now that my friends, the last family I had, had abandoned me, I didn't really feel like I had the strength mentally or physically. There was no way I could tend to the wounds on my back, I couldn't reach that far behind me. Plus it still hurt to move. I was sure that it was infected and, at this rate, I didn't know if it would heal or not.

Finally my desperation gave way and I popped a few more of the pain pills. I was glad that someone had left them for me. It was probably Eliza or Mike. They were the two who seemed the more concerned about my well being and weren't completely paranoid. At least this way I could get some sleep. Maybe dull me up enough to at least try to get out of here. Maybe, just maybe, I could make it on my own.

I fell asleep with a small spark of hope settled in my stomach. I dreamt that I got up and went looking for my family, only to find them not too far away. They had been waiting for me to join them and we made it to the evac just in time. It was the best damn dream I had had since this entire fiasco started.

When I finally awoke I regretted it. I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and live out my happy ending. I especially regretted it when I realized what had woken me up in the first place.

A low, animalistic growl vibrated through the room. My blood ran cold and my heart stopped. It was a sound that I knew too well. My eyes opened to see a Hunter crouched in front of me, its lips pulled back in an ugly snarl. He flashed his blood stained teeth at me as he lowered his face toward my back. He sniffed at the ugly stained a few times before pulling back sharply and hissed. I was frozen, terrified to even breathe. What was it doing. How had it even gotten in?

The infected continued to sniff around my wound, hissing softly. Finally it snarled again and stepped back, walking over to the table where my group had repacked their medical bags. They had left a few things behind, the things that weren't completely full. Tape rolls with only a few inches left and packs of bandages that were almost empty. I watched its every move, noticing that it was limping slightly and that it was using one arm more than the other. That's when the realization hit me. I knew this Hunter. This was the one that had run from us two days before.

I gagged, bringing up the beans from the night before. The Hunter turned and looked at me like I had just sprouted another head. Although, all things considered, that probably wasn't too far of a stretch. It shrugged me off and went back to collecting the bandages, including what little had been left for me. I managed to scoot myself away from my mess and watched as the creature sat down and began to wrap the gun shot wounds. I watched in wonder, unable to believe my eyes. This creature was brilliant enough to be able to know that it needed its wounds to be wrapped and had the ability to do it. Maybe they weren't completely brain dead. Maybe.

I laid back down, somehow not so terrified now. I knew what was going to happen. He was going to wrap his injuries and then use her as a meal to make him feel better. I didn't care if it was a slow and painful, at least it would be over. The more I thought about it the more I knew in her heart that I would never be able to catch up with my friends. Even if my back did deal there was no way I would be able to make it alone. It would only take a Smoker or a Jockey to do me in. Or, in this case, a Hunter. It was better to just get it over and done with now then have to drag this out any longer.

So I just closed my eyes and waited for the killing blow. Maybe I'd get lucky and he'd take me out in only a swing or two. Surely I deserved this small mercy, right?

I heard him approaching me again and opened my eyes to watch him. He crouched in front of me and started sniffing at my back. I could feel him growling at it again. Did I really smell that bad?

I must have asked that question aloud because the Hunter turned and looked at me quickly, examining my face. He growled at me a moment later, telling me to shut up. I complied quickly, looking back down. Any any normal situation I would have been upset that there was some strange creature sniffing my bare back, but the world hadn't been normal for quite some time.

He continued to sniff around the room. I guessed he was picking up the scents of the others in the sleeping bags and empty cans of food. I sighed softly and laid back down, wondering how much longer he was going to draw this out. Maybe, after he finished with me, he was going to go after the others. Maybe this wasn't about healing at all, but a case of revenge. For the first time that day I hoped they were far far away from here. Far enough that the Hunter wouldn't bother with trying to track them down.

As if God telling met hat he had heard my prayers a clap of thunder shook the small safe room, causing both the Hunter and me to jump. A minute later the bottom fell out and rain began peppering the ground around us. Good, at least this meant that the scent of my friends would be washed away. The Hunter wouldn't be able to follow them even if he left now.

I looked back to see the Hunter glaring out of the small window in the safe house door. Apparently he didn't like the sudden storm that had snuck up on him. He growled and paced on his haunches for a brief moment, as if agitated. Well, I wouldn't really be too happy either if I got rained in with some dying human. I listened to him growl and whine at the door as if cursing the weather. It was obvious he wasn't happy.

Much to my dismay I watched him as he gathered the left over sleeping bags and hurled them into a corner. At first I thought he was cleaning the area to prepare to rip into me but was surprised when he curled onto the cloth, just like a cat would. He rested his head in his hands and seemed to settle in to wait out the rain.

What the hell was going on?

I could feel my anger rising as I sat and watched and waited for him to leap on me and shred me to pieces. I was angry that I was still here when my friends had moved on. I was angry that DeRoy had been stupid enough to shoot the Witch. I was angry at Rowan for being stupid enough to shout. I was angry at the world for this entire damn thing happening!

"What are you waiting on?" I cried at him. "Aren't you going to kill me?"

The Hunter looked up at me as I yelled at him. I couldn't see his eyes too well but I could tell that he was surprised. I doubted his prey ever stopped and screamed at him to kill them. But it didn't seem to phase him too much since he just shrugged and went back to sleep. Typical man.

Hot tears started flowing down my cheeks again. After this was over I doubted I would ever have the ability to cry again. I cried myself asleep, listening to my tears and the rain fall.

I woke up briefly in the night but could barely see. A light from outside flooded into the room but it was dim and I still couldn't see much. I could barely make out the outline of the Hunter resting in his bed. Although I couldn't see well I had the sense that he was watching me too. I blamed the fever and went back to sleep.

The next time I woke up screaming. Searing pain spread from my back to ever end of my body. I felt like I was dying over and over and over again. Almost as quickly a hand flew over my mouth, muffling my screams. A hooded face came into the view, the Hunter. He looked at me and held a hand over his mouth for a second before removing it and doing it again. Then he motioned to the safe house door. It took me a minute to understand his meaning. If I screamed it would alert the other zombies. He kept his hand over my mouth until I nodded my understanding. He looked at me for a second longer before moving back behind me.

I didn't know what he was doing until I felt something warm and sticky on my back. He was licking me. He was fucking licking me! What was he doing getting a taste of me before he bit in? Did he not want to have to share his kill? I began to panic.

Suddenly there was another sharp pain and I had to bite my hand to keep myself from screaming. Killing me or not, I didn't want any other undead helping him out. Not concentrating on screaming gave me time to concentrate on what he was doing. He wasn't just licking me, he was licking the scratches on my back. He was trying to clean them. I gasped from surprise and pain as he started licking again. He stopped briefly to growl a warning at me before he continued. Once again I wondered how my body was able to produce tears.

After a few more minutes of torture my caretaker seemed to take pity on me and gave me a break. I could hear him moving around the room and a minute later there was a water bottle pressed against my lips. I looked up to see him looking down at me expectantly. Slowly I parted my lips and allowed him to pour the cool liquid into my mouth. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't grateful. It soothed my raw throat and woke me up every so slightly. He held it up for me a few more minutes before pulling it away. Then he pulled forward a cloth and pressed his fingers against my lips, trying to pry my jaws apart.

Instantly I opened my mouth to yell at him but he stuffed the towel into my mouth too quick for me to respond. I started to spit it out but he covered my mouth and motioned to the hand I had been using as a gag. Now it made sense. He didn't want me to bite myself so he'd brought me this to bite on instead. I looked up at him in confusion. I couldn't understand why he was doing this.

I wasn't able to get a reply as he went back to work. The gagged work. I could bite down and scream as much as I wanted to and it was muffled well enough. He seemed to work quicker knowing I couldn't attract attention. He licked all four scratches thoroughly until he was certain that they were cleaned. I was begging for him to stop by the time he finally did.

He moved in front of me and held out his hand to take the gag from my mouth. I spat it out slowly and looked up at him. "Why are you doing this?" I asked. He didn't answer and I wasn't surprised. He held his hand out to me and I took it hesitantly. If he wasn't going to kill me now I didn't see where the harm in trusting him now. Slowly he pulled me into a sitting position and I cringed at the pain. I pulled my sleeping bag with me to keep myself covered. I wish I knew what Elizabetha had done with my bra. I really needed the support right now.

Seeing that I was up the hunter started to dig through the bag of clothes my friends had brought me. He pulled out a large hoodie with some local school logo on the front. He held it up over my head and nodded his head. He wanted me to get dressed. Now it was my turn to stare at him like he'd been the one who had grown another head. His only response was to grunt and I held out my arm.

"I'm not completely useless. I can dress myself." I said as I snatched the hoodie from him. He stood and watched me, waiting for me to put it on. I just stared at him. "I don't think so. Turn around."

He growled at me but turned around nonetheless. I waited a moment to make sure he was turned around before I pulled the sweater over my head. It definitely was loose which was a relief. It probably wasn't wise to have anything pressed against my back for a while. Not until the wounds were closed anyway.

"Okay, you can turn around." I said once I was comfortable. He looked back at me and gave a satisfied nod before crouching down in front of me. Before I knew what was happening he grabbed my wrist and pulled me against my back. Next thing I knew I was riding piggy back as he grabbed a few things from the room before kicking the door open. He lept out onto the nearest room and continued to carry us through the city via rooftop.

I screamed. I know I did and there was nothing either one of us could do about it. I heard him growling at me to shut up but I didn't listen. I didn't stop screaming until we finally came to a stop on a balcony at least five stories in the air. The sliding door was boarded up but the hunter slid it open with no problem.

Once we were inside he shut the door before crouching low so I could slide off his back. I looked around in shock. We were in some sort of hotel room, or what remained of it. By the disarray I guessed that the hunter had been living here for a while. The bed frame was thrown against the door while the mattress had been thrown into a corner. The sheets on it were ripped to shreds and the blanket was almost as dirty as the hunter himself.

"This is where you live?" I asked as I watched the hunter walk around the room, sniffing around. He seemed much more comfortable now that he was in his own environment. That was all the answer I needed. I walked around slowly, looking around. This was one of the nicer rooms, with its own kitchenette and a much larger bathroom than your average hotel room. Not that that did any good now. With no electricity there wasn't much point in all of this.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked him again. He looked back at me for a moment and scratched his head. Then he looked at the door. I followed his gaze and walked to the blocked exit. Over the bed frame the door was still jammed. I shook the handle but it didn't budge. Finally I ventured a look through the peep hole to see what the state of the hallway looked like. I was surprised to find nothing but pitch black. It was only now that I noticed the nails and screws digging through the door from the other side. To the right of the wall a single message was written.

_Sorry._

It made sense now. This was one of the hotels that was used as an evac station. Obviously he hadn't gotten out in time. Or, rather, not early enough.

"You were bitten before the evacuation? So they sealed you in here?" I asked as I looked back at him. He'd been watching me the entire time. The hunter growled angrily and I knew that it wasn't aimed at me. He was as angry as I was.

"So you were abandoned too. Is that why you helped me?"

He nodded and turned back, disappearing into the kitchen. Now it all made sense, we were alone together.

* * *

So this idea has been floating around my head for the past few days. I'm not really sure if I'll go anywhere with it, I just needed to get it out of my system. I wrote all of this today and I think I'll finally be able to get it out. I know its not original at all but, what the hey, there is nothing wrong with a little self indulgence.


	2. Chapter 2

Its been two days since the hunter brought me back to his...nest. After I realized his reason for sparing me I became a little more trusting of him. It wasn't much of a give, just enough to allow us to live in close proximity to each other without tearing at each others throats.

My back was healing. I don't know what was in his saliva, but the hunter's spit had been the elixir I needed. The scratches were healing and the pain was mostly gone. My fever broke yesterday afternoon. It left me feeling more energized than I had since this entire situation began. But that came with its own downside.

I was bored.

After weeks of shooting zombies and fighting for my life every day, being forced to sit and do nothing was killing me. So far the only thing I had been able to keep myself occupied doing was rearranging what little furniture was left in the room and cleaning up some of the mess. The hunter hadn't been happy with me at first, but I made the point that if he was going to keep me here then it had to be suitable.

So far I'd straightened up the bed, put the sheets back on it and cleaned up the blanket. There was another bed in the other room but it was ripped to shreds on one side with a few blood stains. I didn't like the thought of it, but I was tired of the floor and wasn't going to share with the hunter, I didn't trust him that much. With much huffing and swearing I managed to flip the second mattress over and drag it into the other room. It wasn't much but it was better than the floor.

But now that I had made myself a bed and had straightened up my new home I didn't know what to do. And I was hungry. I had already searched the small kitchen and wasn't surprised to find it empty. So now, along with being bored out of my mind, I was hungry. Normally I could go scavenging to find some canned veggies or soup, but there was no way out. I was five stories off the ground with only the balcony as my way out.

Plus it was locked from the outside. The fucker had locked me in before he left this morning! I had learned pretty early that he didn't want me near the door. Anytime I stood in front of it for more than a few seconds he would growl and nudge me away from it. It didn't make sense at first, but I finally realized that he was afraid that something could snag me through the glass door. It wouldn't be too unthinkable for a Smoker to grab me with its tongue or another Hunter to break in and rip me apart.

I guessed that was the reason why he had locked me inside in the first place, so nothing could get in and get me. Although if they wanted me bad enough I was sure they could figure out a way in. That or he was afraid I'd jump off and just end it all. I'd admit that it had passed my mind a few times before, but I figured that if I made it this far it was too late to stop now.

In the back of my mind I wondered if the Hunter had ever tried to kill himself. It was obvious that he still retained some of part of his humanity. He obviously was angry about being left behind and he was able to understand that I was in the same position. He had helped me and brought me here and was keeping me safe. Maybe, just maybe, the human who was once the hunter was still in there, somewhere.

Or maybe he was just a sick fuck who just enjoyed playing with my head.

Said twisted zombie chose that moment to come back. I could hear him scratching at the makeshift lock outside (a giant chain he'd tied over the handle) as he let himself in. I glared at him as he crawled back in, dragging something behind him.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come back." I said as I watched him scramble into the room. "I'm starving and there's nothing here. I need to go find something to eat."

The Hunter just looked at me and dumped his treasure at my feet before curling up on his bed to rest. I watched him in curiosity before looking back down at the backpack. I started digging through it and slowly began pulling things from the bag's cavern. There were cans of food, more clothes, and a heavy blanket. It wasn't much but it would get me through the next few days.

And that wasn't the end of my little surprise either. At the very bottom of the bag were two pistols and the front pocket was filled with bullets. Normally it wouldn't get me far, but somewhere like this it would do. I looked over at him and couldn't help but smile. He had willingly leveled the playing field. It was his way of saying that he trusted me.

I had a feeling that the door would still be locked in the morning.

"Thanks." I said softly as I pulled out the blanket and stretched it out over my bed. It was so soft and barely had any blood stains on it. The hunter just grunted his welcome as he stirred around on his bed again. Obviously going scavenging for me had taken a lot out of him.

I left him in peace and went to the kitchen to store the food. There really wasn't too much, a few cans of fruit and some soup. It would probably get me through the next few days, but after that I would need more food. And I had a feeling that waiting for the hunter to go and get me food every few days was going to get old. Maybe I could get him to take me with him so I could get some more.

Another problem would be heating the food. There was a small stove but it was electric, which was the same story for the microwave too. I guessed it wouldn't be too bad having to eat soup cold. Right now room temperature wouldn't be too bad. But before long the temperature would start to drop. The night had already started getting colder.

It was a worry that had been sitting idle in the back of my mind, too unimportant compared to the trials of every day life. Now, however, it was starting to eat away at me little by little. Winter was coming and it wouldn't be too long before it got here. The infection had first spread in the heart of summer, making the air palpable. The stench of decomposing bodies had permeated everywhere. It had made existence miserable.

But that had been weeks ago, almost an entire month. I had tried to keep count, taking time out of every day to count back, to try and remember how much time had passed. It was sometime in mid September, I couldn't even begin to guess the exact date. The days were still blistering hot but I could feel the chill in the air, and with no central heating it was going to be difficult to find a way to stay warm. Hell, there wasn't even any hot water!

I pushed the thought from my mind as I managed to find a spoon and popped open the top of a soup can. Pull tab cans were the best damn things to happen to soup since the can opener. I walked back into the room and sank down onto the bed, greedily shoveling food into my mouth. I knew I was hungry but I hadn't realized just how desperately I needed food until it entered my mouth. I don't know if I even stopped to catch my breath.

As I ate (or, rather, inhaled my food) I looked back at the hunter. He was laying curled up in his blanket, a soft rumbling sound coming from his chest. It reminded me of listening to my cats purr when they slept.

This wasn't the first time that I'd compared the hunters to cats. They way they stalked their prey, waited until the last minute to pounce and claw at their victim's throat. They used camouflage and their growl was so vicious that it could strike fear into even the bravest survivor. They were the feline killers of the zombie world.

And, apparently, just like cats, they needed some attention every now and again then too.

As long as he didn't start dragging dead bodies up to our little hovel then I could deal with it. There wasn't exactly anywhere to bury bodies way up here.

I finished eating and took the can back to the kitchen, washing it out. It wasn't really too uncommon to find running water but it was a miracle if the water came out hot. I figured we could save the cans to use as small candle holders. This way, if we had to build a fire, we could take it with us. Like a poor mans flashlight.

I sat the can down on the counter and then walked back out to my room and started cleaning the guns. They needed it and while I didn't have all the tools I could make due. I was glad that there had been at least one gun buff in our little group to teach me how to handle a weapon. Before this the closest I'd ever come to holding a gun were the plastic pistols in the arcade at the movie theater. I laughed darkly when I remembered how often I used those guns to play the zombie shooter with an old boyfriend. We used to say that killing zombies brought people closer together. Boy had we been wrong.

My laugh startled the hunter out of his slumber and he growled softly as he rolled over, looking up at me with annoyance. "Sorry." I muttered, going back to cleaning the gun. "Just remembered something funny. Well, more like ironic, really."

The hunter shifted his head to the side slightly questioningly; he wanted to know what was so funny. I tried to explain as best I could. "My ex boyfriend and I used to play a zombie shooter game every time we went to the movies together. We used to say that it brought us closer together. I was just thinking how ironic that was."

The noise the hunter made sounded like a mixture of coughing and shrieking. I decided that was his version of laughter. It made my hair stand on end at first but I decided it wasn't nearly as bad as a scream or a witches' crying.

"Its my cousin's fault, really. He's the one who got me started on shooters. Whenever he would come in town for the summer we would spend the week playing video games. After he left I would get lonely so I ended up picking it up as well. Next think ya know I'm as big a gamer as he is. That's how I met my ex." I told him, looking out the door. I kept talking, babbling about my ex and how we met and all the fun times we had before we broke up. And, to his credit, the hunter listened to every word. At least he appeared to. He kept his focus on me until I finally was finished.

"What about you? Do you remember anything about your life before all this?" I asked as I looked down at him.

He shifted a little nervously, his lips pulling back in a small snarl. He fidgeted and started growling and I couldn't tell if he was trying to remember or didn't want to.

"Hey, its okay." I said gently, holding my hands up to him. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just wondering. You aren't exactly like the rest of your kind."

He looked at me curiously, although I could still sense his agitation.

"You haven't tried to kill me." I explained with a shrug. "You brought me somewhere safe and gave me food. I don't know of any other infected that have kept humans alive."

The hunter seemed to be a little embarrassed about that and shrugged, looking back over at the sealed doorway.

I knew what he was trying to say. _You are like me._

"I know, we do have a lot in common." I said as I looked at the door. The message that had been written on the safe room wall was still fresh in my mind. It was something that would stay in my mind for a long, long time.

The hunter looked up at me for a minute and nodded before he curled back up on his bed. It was only mid afternoon but this hunter was intent on getting to sleep. Just another cat like characteristic. He would be more active after the sun set. It was my experience that Hunters usually attacked when it was dark out. This time I let him sleep before I ventured off into the bathroom. If I was going to be stuck here then I was going to figure out a way to get a hot bath dammit!

I sat in the bathroom, turning my flashlight toward the ceiling so that the light bounced off the walls and what was left of the mirror. Apparently the hunter hadn't liked what he saw after he had turned. I frowned as I thought about it. If I thought being left behind simply because I was sick was bad enough, how bad must it have felt to woken up to find your friends gone and yourself turned into a monster.

With a heavy sigh I started work on the tub. I discovered that after leaving the water running for nearly fifteen minutes would, eventually, get something resembling hot water. It was only luke warm but it was better than nothing. There had to be another way though. I doubted the water would ever get any hotter and I refused to get through the winter in the middle of a zombie fucked town without a hot bath.

I spent another hour thinking and plotting and experimenting but didn't make much progress. I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing without power tools and those made a lot of noise. Even this high up I didn't doubt that it would draw some unwanted attention. Besides, I really didn't know what I was doing.

I was certain of one thing though; I was going to have to go scavenging.

Convincing the hunter of that was going to be a difficult task. If he wasn't comfortable with me standing in front of the freaking door then I couldn't imagine that he'd be happy taking me out of the room. Besides, I would probably make him more open to attack from others of his kind. But I needed my hot bath!

I started counting off all the things I needed and quickly discovered that I needed a list. After some digging I managed to find the pad and pencil that were essential for every hotel. It had been saved by being stored in a drawer somewhere. I started scrawling out items as quickly as I could think of them and before long I was writing on the back and almost working on another sheet. This was definitely going to take more than one trip. Maybe we'd get lucky and there would be a WalMart nearby, that way we wouldn't have to go looking all over the city.

Circling the things that were the more important I went back over the list to make sure that I wasn't forgetting anything. I checked my gun and loaded it before grabbing some extra ammo. I quickly changed into what I considered my work clothes (my blood soaked shirt, jeans, and shoes) and threw my gun over my shoulder. Instantly I went to grab a health pack and mentally slapped myself. It was so easy to fall back into the same pattern, so easy. But the game had changed now and with it so had the rules.

I lowered my gun from my shoulder and set it against the wall. First I had to wake the hunter up and I knew he wouldn't appreciate seeing the weapon on my back. I didn't figure he'd appreciate being awoken at all but with all of this fresh in my mind I couldn't not go.

"Hunter. Hey, wake up." I said as I walked over to the bed, standing a small distance away. I had a feeling he might try to attack me for waking him up. But my voice did little to stir him. I grimaced a little and kicked the mattress gently. "Hunter. Huuunnnnttteeeerrrrr!" I sang; still nothing.

Sighing heavily I leaned over his sleeping form, intent to shake him awake. But the angle that I gained by leaning closer to him gave me a glance at the face he kept hidden under his hood, a face I'd never seen before. Curiosity got the best of me and ever so gently I began to push the hood back from his face.

A second later I was pinned back against the floor, the hunter leaning over me growling deeply. He wasn't happy and it wasn't just about me waking him up.

_What the hell do you think you are doing?_

"Sorry." I said quickly, holding my hands up as best I could. "I was just going to wake you up. There are some things that I need to go get."

The hunter snarled a little but quickly climbed off me, sitting back a little as he looked at me with a angry look. He didn't understand what it was that I could possibly need.

"Look, winters coming and before long its going to be too cold to keep going out and getting food every few days. There's no way I can catch up to my friends now and I'm not stupid enough to try and survive out there on my own. So we're going to have to spend this winter together, its the only way we're going to make it. And if we want to survive then we need to go ahead and start preparing." I explained as I help my list out to him. I had no idea if he could actually still read but it didn't hurt to try.

The infected examined my list, tilting his head to an angle much like animals do when they are confused. It was so cute that I almost laughed, almost. I wasn't that stupid or suicidal. Whether he could read it or not I didn't know but by the way he growled at it I knew he didn't like how much I had written there.

_You want me to go get all of this?_

"We don't have to get it all now." I explained quickly, folding the note and putting it in my pocket. "But there are some things that we need now. And of course I don't expect you to get all of this yourself. We can get much more if we go together."

I knew he wasn't going to be happy when I suggested it, but the magnitude of his reaction wasn't what I had expected at all.

He roared an honest to god roar that made me take a step back. He stood onto his feet so that he was towering over me by a good foot and pressed his snarling mouth into my face as he pinned me up against the wall. His arms caged either side of my head, giving me no escape. The growl was vibrating throughout his entire body and cutting through the air around us.

His message was clear.

_NO!_

"But why not?" I asked quietly.

The hunter snapped at me, literally snapped his jaws at me, before he shoved off the wall and started to pace around the room on all fours. He was still growling and snapping, trying to explain to me every damn reason why I didn't need to go outside.

"I'm not that weak!" I told him, gaining a little bit of my courage back. I stepped away from the wall too but didn't approach him.

He turned to me sharply, his nostrils flaring as he huffed. I could tell he was staring at the blood stains on my shirt, reminding me of the condition I had been in when we first met.

"Oh come on! It was a Witch! Who the hell could get away from a Witch unscathed besides a Tank?" I yelled in exasperation. I hadn't even been the one who startled her!

He seemed to give me that as I saw him shrug a little but he was still unconvinced, staring at me with the disbelieving eyes that I couldn't actually see.

"Listen you, I've been making my way through this God forsaken city for a week and I travelled from another one two weeks before that! I'm not new to this zombie business. I've survived this long and I'm sure as hell not going to die now." I calmed down a little and cracked a small smile. "Besides, the fact that a zombie saved me has to give me some points as far as 'fate' goes, right?"

For a brief moment I swore I saw him smirk before he looked out the door, contemplating just how dangerous it would be to grant me my wish.

"What, do you think you're going to loose some zombie reputation points with your buds by dragging some human chick along with you?" I teased.

He laughed. He honest to God laughed. It wasn't the same shrieking noise he had made earlier that day, although it was still raspy. This prompted my next question.

"Can you speak? Do you remember how?"

The hunter shrugged, still looking out the glass door.

_I don't know. I've never tried. _

"Can you say my name? Avery." I couldn't recall if I'd ever even told him my name before now.

His face distorted a little as I saw him struggling with his vocal cords to make the sounds. He was trying to figure out how. After a few moments of testing he tried, his attempt coming out as more of a low key battle cry. But at least he covered the "a" and "ry" sounds. Making the "v" was going to be a difficult task for his damaged vocal cords.

I gave him a small, encouraging smile but I knew he was already aggravated so I didn't push it. He tried a few more times before growling and twitching.

"Hey, that wasn't half bad." I told him to try and comfort him. "Just keep trying. In the mean time we need to think of something to call you."

He looked over at me curiously, not understanding why he needed a name.

"Well I can't go around calling you 'Hunter' all the time. That might be what you are, but that's not who you are. Besides, what if I see another hunter? If I shout you're just gonna turn around thinking that I'm yelling for you." I explained as I racked my brain. The truth was I had been thinking about this since my first day here but I hadn't come up with anything good.

"I don't guess you have any suggestions do you?"

The hunter's stare was almost comical. I knew what he was thinking.

_What the hell do you think?_

"For now why don't we just stick with Hunt? Easy for both of us to recognize but different enough so we don't get confused. Sound good."

Hunt nodded a little reluctantly although I got the feeling that he wasn't too happy about his new name. It wasn't permanent, I told myself, just until we thought of something better.

"So, Hunt, should we get going?" I asked as I shouldered my gun.

He seemed to sigh in defeat and nodded as he headed for the door.

* * *

I'm glad to see that at least a few people like this story. I'm trying to keep it original and interesting.

Keep in mind that everything in italics aren't the hunter's exact thoughts but what Avery is assuming he's thinking. I'm trying to use this as a way for him to speak without really talking.

Thanks for your support guys. Reviews make Hunt want to take his hoodie off!


	3. Chapter 3

It was times like this that I was thankful for all those survival shows that I watched on Sunday afternoons. Of course none of them had mentioned how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Who figured Max Brooks would have been a better source than Les Stroud? But the keys to survival were all the same. First things first, I was going to have to find food; for me and for Hunt. I didn't know if he could eat normal food or not but there sure as hell wouldn't be any people hunting while I was around.

Getting out of our little hole in the wall was easy enough. I held on tight as Hunt leapt from balcony to the roof across the ally. We barely touched the ground before we took off through the air again. My fear of heights made keep my face buried in his back and I noted that he smelled; at least his clothes did. As soon as we figured out how to get hot water he was going to get a bath. I didn't care if I did have to tranquilize him, this zombie was getting a bath and a new change of clothes.

A particularly rough landing forced me against his back again and the overwhelming stench of mildew and decay assaulted my nostrils.

"Okay that's it, put me down." I said as we landed.

Hunt looked back at me curiously as he crouched to make another leap.

"I'm serious! Let me down! We can walk the rest of the way."

He huffed but sat back so I could slide off. I straightened up and grabbed my pistol, looking around. We hadn't seen many other infected but I had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to resist a lone survivor walking around with only one weapon.

I looked back at the hunter who was watching me with some apprehension, trying to decide if he should stick with me or not.

"Cover me from above. I'll be fine on my own down here." I told him.

He nodded and leapt onto a nearby room and disappeared out of sight. For a brief moment fear flooded me, but I knew it was uncalled for, Hunt needed me as much as I needed him. He wouldn't leave me, not like the others did.

He proved me right ten minutes later when a small group of commons picked up my scent. It was easy to dispatch the first few that I saw coming, even with a single pistol. But I failed to notice the few coming up behind me until I heard Hunt leap from a ledge above and tackle an infected that was sneaking up on me. He swiped at it fiercely, removing the head from its shoulders with a single blow. I stared at him in a mixture of amusement and awe as he flashed me a grin before disappearing back into the shadows.

Hunt, my protector in the shadows. My life had certainly taken a strange turn. Two weeks ago I would glance at these same shadows with fear and caution; now i looked to them for hope and salvation in case I got in over my head.

We were only a few blocks from the store now. I had seen it briefly when we were flying through the air. It wasn't a WalMart but, from the looks of it, it was pretty damn close. The building was huge with a parking lot to match. I hoped that there was a wide selection of items inside. Hopefully it wasn't so small that it had been raided completely.

With pistols aimed I peered around a corner and stepped into the street. Usually I avoided streets at all cost. It left too much open, especially when you were traveling alone. But I knew that I didn't need to fear the roof tops anymore. I prayed that Hunt would alert me if a Smoker or another Hunter was nearby. Or, god forbid, a Tank.

I immediately stopped that train of thought. No. No no no! There would be no Tanks! I wasn't going to jinx it. I'd been lucky this far and I wasn't about to tempt fate into ending it now. But, just like the ally way, the street was only littered with a few of the common infected. They were easy enough to pick off before they got too close and I didn't even see Hunt thinking about pouncing. He was keeping a safe distance from me, perhaps to avoid being associated with me. Maybe others would think I was his kill? Did zombies even have a concept of possessions? Was it against the zombie code of conduct to attack a human of another zombie? Was there a zombie code of conduct?

There were so many questions; too many questions.

The facade of the store was coming into view now and I was ecstatic to see only a few over turned cars and commons blocking my way. I had never been so damn happy! Hunt must have been feeling some of my happiness too as he dropped down onto the street next to me with a soft shriek. He looked up at me with a ferocious grin that would have sent fear through my body only a few days before. Now I only matched it. We were two lions that had just found the biggest damn herd of antelope that we had ever seen. And there wasn't another pride for miles.

Without any indication to each other we both started running down the street, jumping over cars and aiming for the loiterers. Hunt leapt onto a nearby zombie while I pumped the other with bullets. Together we cleared the next two blocks in record time.

But that's where our luck ran out.

The parking lot was empty save for a mass of cars and a lot of trash. Despite how peaceful it seemed I knew this was a bad sign. It was always better to be able to see your enemy than let them sneak up on you. That's why I was glad the hunter was on my side.

Hunt seemed to be pretty on edge too. If there weren't any zombies in the parking lot that meant they could only be inside the store, which was going to make getting inside a hell of a lot harder.

"You ready pal?" I asked as I took the free moment to reload. I didn't exactly have unlimited ammo but I figured there were piles of it laying around somewhere. As long as I could make it through the store then I'd be fine.

Hunt barked and looked at me to ask the same question. He looked at my gun as I reloaded and then back up at me.

_Are you going to have enough?_

"Don't worry, I should be able to make it through. If not then I'm sure I can find an axe or something to use." I said with a shrug. Maybe I'd get lucky and find another gun. The pistol was great and all, but I was a poor shot and this didn't exactly do a lot of damage. It would be great to have a shot gun or my hunting rifle with me again. Even a second pistol would make me feel a little bit more at ease.

I could feel Hunt's eyes lingering on me for a minute before he started crawling for the door. It struck me then that I hadn't actually ever seen Hunt's face, it was always hidden beneath the hood. But I could always tell when he was looking at me or what kind of expression he was wearing. Apparently I was getting better at reading body language, even among the dead.

We crunched through the broken glass of the front doors and into the dark building. A few of the emergency lights were still blinking on but most of the store was still dark. Well damn. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. I looked back out into the sunlit parking lot. I knew there was a horde waiting for me just a few feet away and I couldn't help but want to run back into the awaiting light.

But from within the darkness I heard a curious call and although I couldn't see him I knew Hunt was waiting for me. Stealing myself against my fear I took a few more steps into the dark, knowing that I wouldn't be dealing with this alone.

"Alright, just watch my back okay? I know you can see a lot better than I can." I said softly as I walked in, looking around. It was hard to see but I could hear the shuffling and groans of the nearby commons. They hadn't noticed us, yet. On the back of my legs I felt the brush of Hunt's stiff hoodie and I allowed myself to relax. He was good to his word, that much I knew.

Just then I heard the shrieks of the few zombies lurking nearby and I lifted my pistol, turning on the flashlight. Their eyes reflected back at me as they rushed towards me. I unloaded a few bullets into each of them as I slowly worked my way forward. Behind me Hunt was growling at them, startling a few of the commons who looked around in confusion. His intimidation didn't last long, however, and their gluttony made them rush forward again. The sharp claws of my hunter friend ripped their already decaying bodies to shreds. Soon we have the entry way cleared out. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Once I was sure that no other zombies were coming I groped around until I found the back of Hunt's hoodie. "Lead the way." I told him once I had a firm hold. I heard him growl softly before twisting and wrenching my hand off of him. Well so much for that plan. But I was a big girl, I could handle myself. Right? Right.

Ahead of me I could hear Hunt growling. He wasn't angry, or happy, or annoyed, he was just making noise. He was making sure I could hear him as we moved forward into the darkness. There was only so much that my little light could illuminate.

Slowly I took a step forward and then another followed by the other again until I was walking hesitantly into the darkness of the store. The layout was pretty familiar, with food and produce on one side and other necessary supplies on the other. After hitting the food department we would need to raid the outdoor section to see if anything was left.

With Hunt in front of me literally growling directions I was able to wade through the void, disposing of any undead that were unlucky enough to become illuminated by my flashlight. Ahead of me I could hear Hunt tearing into his brethren. So far so good. There were a lot of the fuckers but they weren't swarming. Maybe one lone human wasn't exciting enough for them to start moshing. At least not until said lone human walks into a display of glass bottles, knocking them to the ground with a loud commotion.

Well shit.

How did a fucking display of glass bottles survive a room full of zombies anyway? Shouldn't they have been the first things to go? A whiff of the air told me that I had knocked over some fancy schmancy bottles of vinegar. Perfect. Just bloody perfect.

The echoing scream of a horde sounded all around me and I heard Hunt hiss loudly a second before I felt him pressed up against me. For the first time since I had awoken all alone in the safe room I was afraid. I had gone up against hordes before but never alone. Even with four other people at your back hordes were always dangerous. You never knew what was lurking in that sea of decomposing bodies.

For the first time I doubted Hunt's ability to protect me. This could easily become too much for us and it would be smarter for him to cut his losses and run. If four immune humans could do it I couldn't put it past a zombie to do the same thing.

"Hunt." I said softly as I listened to the sea of zombies getting closer and closer. I felt his back stiffen as I called his name, focusing his attention on me. "Please don't leave me." I pleaded just as the first waves crashed against us. If the hunter replied I didn't hear it over the screaming of the infected.

I planted my pistol directly against the skulls of those that got too close to me and unloaded into the dead brains. The now, truly dead fell back and were instantly replaced by two more. I kept it up, concentrating on killing everything as quickly as I could, ignoring the fists of those that got too close. I concentrated on my job and that was all I could do.

Behind me I could hear Hunt growling and screaming and roaring as he tore the flesh their dying bodies. I could tell that he wanted nothing more than to leap out into the fray and destroy them before they got too close. But he stayed with his backside pressed against mine, snapping at anything that got too close.

I was too preoccupied with keeping anything from getting too close to hear the groan of a nearby Boomer. Even if I had been listening for it, it would have been impossible to hear over the mixture of my blood rushing in my ears and screaming of the dead. I didn't notice the bloated creature until he was standing only a few feet away from me, taking his aim. Shit.

"Boomer!" I shouted out of habit as I turned my fire onto it before it got too close. But it was too late. The monster wretched and covered me and a large area surrounding me in its vomit.

If possible the horde became even hungrier, pushing and shoving each other with more violence in an attempt to get to me. I shoved my finger onto the trigger as quickly as I could until all I heard was 'click click'. Damn! I reached for another clip but a flailing hand knocked the magazine from my hand. As if sensing my moment of weakness the horde pushed in closer, completely blocking my view of everything.

Suddenly I became very aware of my mortality and I knew that I was going to die here. I couldn't feel Hunt against my back anymore and I knew that he had left me, not wanting to doom himself to the same fate. He had the right to run. I didn't expect him to stay just to try and keep me alive. That would have been suicide.

WIthout any other means of protection I curled my arms around my head, hunching over, trying to keep my face safe. Maybe someone would be able to recognize my remains and at least give me a head stone. I jammed my fingers into my ears in an attempt to try and drown out the noise.

I screamed as I was shoved down on my chest. I tried to look up but my view was blocked by a dark pants leg in my face. I thought it was that of one of the commons until I caught the reflection of duct tape around the ankle. Craning my head I looked up to see Hunt standing over me, decapitating and gutting any of the horde that got too close.

I looked back down then, slamming my eyes closed, curling my body up so that it was as small as possible. Now I knew why it was a bad idea for us to come. Now I knew why he wanted to leave me behind. I was going to be hearing a lot of "I told you so" after this was over.

Slowly the roaring in my ears died away. I couldn't hear the zombies or the ripping of flesh, just the heaving beating of my heart in my chest. Hesitantly I opened my eyes, afraid of what I was see.

"Hunt?" I called softly. I wanted to get up, to move, but I couldn't do that with him standing over me, still crouched. He was growling into the darkness, daring anyone to come closer. And I wasn't about to start pushing him in case he tried to attack me, thinking I was something else. He turned and looked down at me and I felt my entire body freeze.

His hood had fallen back in the midst of his fight, revealing his face for the first time. Nothing I could have imagined would have been anywhere close because I would have never imagined him to look so human.

His hair, though matted and stained with blood, was recognizable as being a light brown color. It had grown shaggy in his time since a zombie, although it might have been that way before; it was impossible to tell. His skin had the familiar pallor that was typical for the infected masses but he lacked the obvious deformities that many of the others did. There were no masses of puss or enlarged talons. His muscles were not bulging nor was he distorted.

The only obvious signs of the illness were the changes of his eyes. His pupils were wide, almost completely swallowing the irises. It was like looking into the eyes of an animal. There was no emotion, only instinct. But as he looked at me realization seemed to dawn on him and I saw those pupils slim, revealing the gold of his eyes.

Again with the cat characteristics.

But those animalistic eyes quickly narrowed in annoyance as Hunt growled and stepped away from me.

_I told you! I told you this would be dangerous! But no, you just had to come along! You couldn't trust me to get what you needed!_

He was ranting and raving, angry that we had been put in this position.

"I'm sorry, okay?" I said with a sigh as I dusted myself off, trying to calm down. No matter how many times it happened, being overtaken by a horde was always scary. "I should have gotten another gun or a few pipe bombs. I know I know. I'm sorry." I said shakily as I looked around.

Satisfied that I had learned my lesson Hunt stopped glaring at me and pulled his hoodie back up, much to my disappointment. It was nice to look at another (semi)human face. Oh well, he'd already saved my ass twice now, I wasn't about to ask him to do this for me too. I was running out of favor points.

"Come on, lets just go find some food." I said as I kicked a corpse out of my way and started back on our mission. I tried to ignore my body as it shook from fear and excess adrenaline.

I heard something shuffling beside me and suddenly felt something pressed into my hand. I looked down and was happy to see another pistol being shoved into my hand. I checked it and was happy to see it was fully loaded. Thank God!

"Hunt, you are my zombie guardian angel." I said with a happy smile as I flicked on the light. This was a more powerful pistol than the one I had been carrying. He must have plucked it from one the corpses that were now littering the ground.

Next to me I could hear him laughing to himself as he snuck forward, making sure the way was clear before he motioned for me to come forward. After we passed the fifth isle with no zombies in sight I grabbed an abandoned shopping cart and started pushing, ignoring the creaking wheels and the incredulous look from the hunter.

"Look, I figure its smarter to go ahead and get a ton of shit and leave it somewhere up front so we don't have to keep doing this over and over every time we run out of supplies. I'd say we push it to the ally but that's too obvious and the commons will get into it." I said as I started down the canned food isle. Without bothering to look at what it was I started shoving things off the shelves and into the cart. When your food supply was limited you really couldn't afford to be picky.

"Can you even eat this?" I asked as I looked at a can of ravioli before tossing it into the buggy. Already the thing was getting full. Apparently no one had survived long enough to make it back this far. They had all turned into the mass of infected that Hunt had just taken out.

Hunt shrugged, still growling, crouched at the end of the isle on high alert. Oh well, we'd find out later. I threw the can into the cart and kept looking.

Once the canned goods were finished I started searching the next isle for anything that could last, containers of ramen, pasta, canned meat. Anything that had an expiration date that ended in 2011 was added to the collection. Whatever lasted would be used. I was taking a page from the Native American's book and using everything that I could find.

"Alright, I think we've got enough food." I said once I had scavenged all I could. It was certainly a good amount and would probably last us for a month or two, as long as we didn't get gluttonous. "Now lets see what they've got in the outdoors section." I said as I pushed the cart passed my zombie guard on duty.

He looked into my cart and looked back up at me with a sarcastic expression.

_You sure you got enough?_

"This should last us for a little while." I said as I started walking toward the back corner of the store. "Now we just got to find something to heat it up with." Surely there were some electric heaters or something that we could use.

Surely.

Hopefully.

Maybe.

Probably not.

I sighed softly as I continued forward. It was hard to stay positive when the world was the way it was.

That's when I heard something strange beside me. It was a large sniffing sound, like the neighbors' dogs used to make when they were tracking my cats. I looked behind me and saw Hunt sniffing the edge of my shirt.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted, swatting at him with my fist. Instantly he recoiled and scooted back a few feet looking abashed.

"Where you sniffing me? Where you actually sniffing me?" I continued my tirade, still unsure if I had really just seen what I thought I had.

Hunt just crouched and looked at his feet, shuffling his hands as he nodded slightly. If I didn't feel so uncomfortable without it I would have thrown my gun at him.

"Well you don't exactly smell like roses yourself mister." I snapped back at him as I looked down at myself. I really did reek. And I had completely forgotten about being bombed by the Boomer. So maybe I really did smell like roses to him.

"So, what, does this Boomer shit really smell good to you?" I asked as I looked down at my shirt. I was definitely going to have to get some new clothes. I turned my buggy around sharply and started toward the middle of the store where there was a small display of clothes. Thank God that the owners had been preparing to put the first of the winter line on sale. There were hoodies and jackets galore.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hunt nod his head vigorously at my question. That alone made me want to vomit. "That's it, you and I are getting new clothes. What size do you need?" I said as I looked back over at him. He was pretty average size, not too large or too skinny. "Medium it is then." I said as I grabbed a few mens hoodies and threw them into the cart with the rest of our stuff.

"Turn around." I said as I pulled a smaller, pink girls jacket from another rack. Hunt looked at me curiously and I glared at him. "I said turn around. You're still a guy and I am maintaining some dignity throughout all this."

He grunted but turned his back to me nonetheless. Quickly I ripped off my dirty shirt and threw it to the ground before pulling on the jacket and zipping up the front. "Alright, you can turn around." I called as I finished dressing myself.

"There. Now I only slightly stink of death and decay." I said with a sarcastic grin. I had the impression that Hunt was rolling his eyes at me when suddenly he froze. He sat up straighter on high alert before growling deep in his throat. He started backing up closer to me until he was pressed against my legs. He continued to growl softly and I recognized it as a sound similar to what my cats made when they were afraid. That wasn't good. If Hunt was afraid that meant that I should be scared shitless.

"What is it?" I asked softly as I trained my eyes on the door. There was only one thing I knew of that could possibly scare a hunter and I prayed that this wasn't the case.

"Please don't tell me there's a Tank out there." I muttered, my eyes never leaving the door.

Hunt stopped growling and pulled on the corner of my wrist to get my attention. I looked down to see him crouched in front of me like he usually did when he wanted me to get on his back. I didn't hesitate with the threat of a Tank looming over us. Then I looked over at our spoils, our means of survival.

"Quick! We have to hide it!" I whispered harshly. He hissed back.

_What the hell are you thinking? We have to hide ourselves!_

"Just shove it behind that counter over there. That way we'll know where it is and we don't have to do this again." I told him. "Or let me down and let me do it."

He growled at me.

_Fine. But if we get killed I'm blaming you._

He jumped and shoved our cart full of food and clothes behind a nearby counter so it was out of sight. This way we could come back in a few days and reclaim our spoils for the day.

Before I had a chance to protest further, Hunt leapt onto a nearby display case and from there onto the rafters. He crawled carefully along while I peeped over his shoulder. Slowly we crept closer to the entrance and already I could feel the thunderous waves of the Tank as it made its way toward us. I held my breath as we froze in place and watched as the gargantuan beast made its way through the doors.

The Tank stopped just inside, sniffing briefly and looking around. I had a horrible sense that it could smell us, that it knew we were there, it just didn't know where. I clung to Hunt tighter but was unable to make myself look away. I noticed that Hunt was being as silent as possible too, every muscle tensed and ready to make its move. We would only have one opening.

We sat perched there for what seemed like an eternity before the Tank finally lumbered further into the store. As soon as the monster was far enough away Hunt jumped, landing on the ground for only a brief moment before he jumped outside again. Behind us I could hear the Tank roaring in aggravation as we escaped passed it. The echo of its heavy footsteps floated to my ears but by the time it made it to the parking lot we were already on a roof several yards away.

Hunt didn't stop moving until we could no longer hear the Tank's roars. He carried us everywhere and anywhere to get us away from the Tank. By the time we finally made it back to the hotel room he was exhausted. He collapsed just inside the door, sending me toppling off to the side.

I grunted but didn't complain. I got up and slammed the door shut, shoving the piece of plywood that served as a brace over it. I looped the chain around the inside handle for good measure.

"Come on, lets get you one the bed." I said as I tried to hoist him up, supporting part of his body weight so he could walk over to his bed. I helped him lay down gently and laid the cover over him as he curled up on his side.

"Thanks for today." I said softly as I sat down next to him. "I'm sorry I nearly got you killed a few times."

He shook his head a little, his way of telling me not to worry about it. I smiled to myself and got up to get something to eat but stopped when I heard his raspy voice behind me.

"Rrrrr...ellllcom...Arrey."

* * *

I don't know if I'm happy with this chapter or not. I enjoyed writing the beginning and the fight with the horde, but after that I couldn't find anyway to make it amusing. Originally I was going to write out about everything they did in the store, but that seemed to be too long and boring. Finally I decided to add the Tank as just a way to shake things up a bit before things got too cliche. I do hate to be cliche. Depending on the feedback I get on this chapter I might rewrite the later half of it.

Speaking of, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story thus far. I am so thankful for the tips and advice you've given and look forward to what is yet to come. I would just like to say now that this is not meant to be a romance. Later on there might be some heated moments and fluff but the over all theme of this story is survival and how these two have to work together as a team to survive the approaching winter when they can't afford to be moving around so much. At this point I don't know how this story will end either.

But thank you again everyone and do continue to review. Remember that the italics are Hunt's "thoughts" so to speak, or at least what Avery imagines he's saying.

Left 4 Dead (c) Valve


	4. Chapter 4

It took us a week to collect everything from the store.

For two days after the incident with the Tank, Hunt didn't let me out of the hotel room and I didn't bother to argue with him. I was more shaken that I was willing to admit, but coming face to face with a horde and a Tank in the same day didn't exactly do to calm ones nerves.

The night of the attack I didn't stop shaking, even as I tried to lay down and sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the reflection of golden orbs shining back out at me in the darkness; as I curled up on my side I could feel the decomposing hands grabbing for me, hitting, scratching, trying to tear me limb from limb. It was like reliving the horde all over again.

More than once I would awaken suddenly and quickly spin around to make sure that the hunter was still there. He was my only source of protection now and I silently feared that I would awake to see that he was gone too. I knew it was a silly notion that should have been proven wrong after he fended off the horde, but I would have once said the same thing about my friends.

After turning around one too many times I heard Hunt growl at me softly. The tremors that were crashing through my body were keeping him awake and my constant paranoia was keeping him on edge. The sound originated deep in his throat and I could feel it vibrate through the air.

_Calm down, I'm not going anywhere. Now go to sleep. _

I muttered a soft apology before rolling back on my side. He gave a raspy cough and then I felt him shift and turn his back to me. I dozed in and out of sleep after that but it was far from peaceful.

I managed to sleep better the next two nights and slowly began to regain some of my energy. By the fourth day I was starting to feel a little stir crazy. As desperate as I was to not run into another zombie on steroids, I was certain that I would meet a worse fate if I was forced to sit in that small hotel room for any longer. After much yelling and growling at one another we reached a compromise. Hunt would take me with him when he went to retrieve our goods, but I was to sit on a rafter, high up and away from danger.

So, for the past three days, I sat on my high perch, shouting down directions to Hunt as he stuffed things into the backpacks that we had been using to transport our goods from the store to our home. It took some time but eventually we were able to fill the cabinets with an assortment of different soups, canned fruits and vegetables, and pasta. We also had several cases of ramen stacked on the far wall. I hadn't originally planned to collect all this food at once, but if we could get it all now, that meant we didn't have to go back and get it later.

Unfortunately where the store had a mass of food it lacked any means for us to cook it. The outdoors section that I had been so determined to search turned up to have very little in it at all. Turns out the department hadn't been very large to begin with (figures in a city this big) and what had been there had already been picked over. However, we didn't come away empty handed. We had stocked up on every single type of battery that we could find, even if we didn't have any use for them yet. I'd also collected a few rolls of fishing line. I had learned long ago that there were many other uses for fishing line other than the traditional use.

We also found a few rolls of duct tape for Hunt. Since he and I had both started collecting new pieces for our winter wardrobe I knew he was going to want more tape. He had been teased relentlessly when I found a roll of hot pink tape that I told him would go beautifully with his black and gray ensemble. His only reply had been to glare at me and snarl before putting me back in my perch.

I watched as he finished packing the last of our find into the bags we had been using to drag things back and forth. A third empty one sat next to me in case we needed it. As he worked on forcing the cans into the bag I looked around the rest of the store. We had cleared it of commons in the days prior but a few still wandered back in. I could only count a small handful from my birds eye view.

What I did spot, however, was the hygiene section that hadn't been touched since the infection had started to run rampant. When the world was ending no one really thought about carrying shower gel and bath salts with them. But when you are bunkering down for a few months the fragrant bath soaps were small slices of heaven, a reminder of a life that had been so much simpler.

My mind was made up almost immediately; I wasn't leaving this store without them.

But first I was going to have to get down.

"Oi Hunt!" I called down to him in a harsh whisper. Silence was something that was fragile and dangerous to break. A soft voice could be exaggerated to the volume of a screaming alarm in the quiet confines of a building like this. And when you are surrounded by beings that are sensitive to noise and want nothing more than to kill you, it is always best to maintain that silence whenever possible.

He looked up at me questioningly, wondering what I wanted now. I'd finally stopped giving him a hard time after he'd thrown a can of beans at me.

"Get me down. I see something else I need to get before we leave." I replied, pointing in the direction of the bathing goods section.

He looked from me to where I was pointing then to me again. Although I couldn't see him I could feel the glare he was sending me as he shook his head in a very definite 'No'.

"Hunt, I swear, if you do not get me down from here right now I am going to jump down my damn self! Then on top of getting my girly stuff, you'll have to give me a bath too. So if you don't want to have to deal with a paraplegic for the next five months then I suggest you get up here right now!" I hissed at him. There was no way in hell he was getting out of this one.

He growled at me in aggravation and I knew I would be hearing more about this when we got back to the hotel, but for now he finished dropping the cans into the backpack and leapt up next to me on the rafter. He landed close to me, growling in my face for good measure, just so I understood that he did not appreciate my tone. But a moment later he lowered his back to me and I crawled on, grabbing our empty bag before we took off flying through the air.

In only a matter of seconds I was placed on my feet in front of the isle with all of the shampoos and shower gels. I could feel how hard I was smiling as I started walking down the isle. I grabbed the largest bottles I could find and stuffed them into the bag. I even picked up a bottle of Axe shower gel that I thought Hunt (and I) would like. As I was stuffing it into the bag, however, a thought struck me. Most of the infected relied on their sense of smell as a means to track their prey. If Hunt smelled like a human then no doubt he would be hunted like one as well.

I practically threw the mens shampoo back onto the shelf and grabbed the nearest unscented bottle I could find. I grabbed a few bottles of shower gel before rounding the corner to the next isle. I was quick to grab shaving cream, razors, deodorant, a hair brush, and all of the other necessities. I made sure I had double of everything, for me and for Hunt.

I was finished with my scavenger hunt in a matter of minutes and returned to the main isle where Hunt was waiting. The pack on my back was zipped shut but still obviously full of goodies. Hunt looked me over and rolled his eyes.

_Women..._

He lowered his back to me so I could scramble on. With this many bags he would have to make two trips. One to take me back with one bag and then to return for the other two. I felt bad but promised myself I would find a way to make it up to him, somehow. I held on tight as I felt the muscles in his legs tighten and a second later we were airborne. This was a sensation that I was getting used to and on that I might miss if it ever came to an end.

As we landed on our balcony I slid off his back and opened the door, leaning the bag just inside. I turned and smiled at Hunt. "See you in a bit."

He nodded and gave me a smirk before he jumped off to the roof across the ally and disappeared in the direction of the store. I watched him for only a second before I went inside, making sure the door was shut securely behind me.

I tried to swallow the nervousness that grew inside every time I was left alone while Hunt went to gather our things. I had quickly learned that it wasn't because I was afraid of being alone, I was simply worried that Hunt wouldn't come back. Of course he was in his element out there. It was his kind that infested the city and I hadn't seen any signs of survivors in weeks.

But I couldn't help but worry. What if they could smell me on him or sense that he was different? Or what if he got hurt somehow and couldn't move? There was no way I'd be able to get to him up here.

In an attempt to clear my head of all the negativity I grabbed my bag and dragged it into the bathroom. Now was as good a time as any to try and organize things. Unfortunately it didn't take me as long as I had hoped. The small bathroom only had room for a few of the various bottles and tubes but I did my best to make it work. Shampoo and conditioner were balanced on the rack in the shower while my body wash took up a corner against the edge of the bathtub and the wall, along with my razor and shaving cream.

I put the two toothbrushes by the sink, still in their packages, and the giant tube of toothpaste next to them. The rest of the bathing supplies I stowed on the towel racks that had been empty since the day I had arrived. Who knew what had happened to them but that was just something else we needed to add to the list of things we would need to make our hole a home.

Before I left the bathroom I turned on the water in hopes that something resembling hot water would come out eventually. Now that I had everything I needed I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of my bath, even if the water wasn't steaming hot.

By the time the tub was half full I heard a familiar scratching a the door. I opened it without questioning who was there; only one person (infected) would know to come to this balcony. I was surprised to see that he had both bags on his back.

"Hunt should you really be caring that much?" I asked as I grabbed one of the bags and carried it to the kitchen. "You could throw out your back and then we would really be up the creek without a paddle."

His only response was a grunt as he shrugged off the last bag and went to investigate the noise coming from the bathroom. I let him and put the rest of our food away, trying to make it all fit in the shelves so that the already small room didn't seem smaller.

As I finished he crawled back into the room and looked up at me quizzically. His hood was pushed back again like it usually was when it was just us. I don't know if he did it because he trusted me or simply so I wouldn't keep trying to pull it off of him. Either way I was grateful.

"What?" I asked as I walked passed him into the 'bedroom' to get my clothes. "I got all this stuff so now there is nothing to stop me from getting a bath. Later on you can get one too. I'm sure it'll make you feel better."

I couldn't be certain but I could have sworn I saw Hunt's face get even paler at my suggestion. I laughed despite myself. I had known all along that it was going to be hard to get him to consent to bathing but it was still going to provide me with endless hours of entertainment nonetheless.

"Oh stop being a baby. You're a hunter for crying out loud! You have a lot more to fear than a bath. Besides, I even got you unscented soap so you won't smell like 'Spring Garden' or 'Strawberry Passion'." I laughed as I gathered my clothes and marched into the bathroom.

As I turned the shut the door I stuck my head out and gave my roommate a sickeningly sweet smile. "I know you know the rules by now but I'll just go ahead and say it for everyones benefit. If you peak you die."

Hunt was still too shocked from the threat of a bath to respond to my other threat and I shut the door with the same sweet smile. I had been able to see the gears turning in his head trying to figure a way out of this. But he knew he couldn't run forever and eventually he was going to have succumb to me.

With the door securely shut behind me I began to shed my clothes like they were on fire. Just seeing the pool of water that had gathered in the tub was enough to make me hurry. It had been ages since I had had a proper bath and I didn't want to waste time.

Clothes discarded into a messy pile in one corner of the room I carefully stepped into the tub and sank down into the water. It was like having sex after having a two year dry spell. There were no words to describe the euphoria and I know I moaned softly even with the luke warm water. A bath was a bath and that's all that mattered at the moment.

I soaked in the water for countless minutes, just enjoying the feel of water against my bare skin. I ignored the shuffling that Hunt was doing outside of my little haven. He was probably just trying to get a can of ravioli open. Right now I was enjoying my moment of being completely self centered.

That moment passed as soon as I opened my eyes and saw how much dirt had come loose from my skin and had started floating around the rim of the tub. WIthout even having to scrub the water was already littered.

"This is going to be a bitch to clean." I muttered to myself as I grabbed the wash cloth and began to scrub my skin clean.

In order to get completely clean I had to drain the water after my first bath and then refill it to get the more stubborn dirt and dried blood from my skin. I was surprised to see how dark I had gotten beneath the layers of dirt, guts, and blood that had dried on me. In any other situation I would have admired my tan, but now it just made me stand out even more.

After my second round of scrubbing (although I was glad to be smelling like strawberries) I felt much more human. I could see my skin much more clearly and I was glad to see that many of my bruises and cuts were healing nicely. Now that I wasn't having to fight for my life through a horde every single day I didn't have to constantly bandage wounds.

Stepping out of the tub I turned my back to the mirror and tried to look at the scars on my back. I couldn't see them well but I could see enough of the red, inflamed ridges to know that I would carry these scars for the rest of my life. Maybe it was better this way. This was proof of what I had lived through.

I drained the tub again before turning on the water. By now it was running ice cold but I wanted to get my hair clean too. I couldn't even remember what color it was at this point and I had given up trying to brush it only a few days after the infection. A few days after that I was able to ignore my itching scalp. But now that I had shampoo at my disposal I couldn't wait to get it clean.

Like my skin, my hair had to be washed several times before it finally came out clean. I was surprised to see just how much dirt and other things (I didn't want to think about what they were) came out of my hair as I held my head beneath the faucet. It felt so damn good!

I don't know how long I stayed in the bathroom getting clean but when I finally came out I felt like a brand new woman. I was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a hoodie that was too large but was beyond comfortable.

"I feel like an entirely different person." I said with a grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat.

Hunt looked up at me curiously, sniffing the air for a minute before laying back down on his bed, his head on his hands.

"Now its your turn."

That got his attention. He looked up at me with eyes that I had only seen on my young children when they were being told that they had to go to the doctor. It was an expression of horror and despair. If I thought he was capable of it, I thought he would have started to cry.

"Oh come on, its not going to be that bad. I'm not going to doll you up like a poodle. I just want to get you clean." I explained, trying to reason with him.

But the hunter stayed firmly planted on the bed and I could seem him clenching his fists. I sighed and held my hand out to him.

"Come on. After this I'll open up a big can of ravioli and I won't ask you to do it again." I gave him a smile. He eyed me warily for a minute before standing and shuffling into the bathroom like it was his death bed. I laughed to myself as I gathered up a pair of pants and a hoodie for him as well as a pair of boxers. I figured even someone who was infected would enjoy a pair of underwear.

"Sit." I said, pointing to the toilet. He sat down on it and watched as I started to run the bath water and fill the tub.

"I'm sorry that its not really warm. I think the only way we'll ever be able to get a hot bath is if we boil water over a fire, but I don't know if that would really be safe to do up here." I explained as I tested the water on my hand. At least it had built up enough to be luke warm again. If I was going to be cruel enough to force him to get a bath I at least wanted it to be semi comfortable.

Next was going to come the most awkward situation since we met; I was going to have to get Hunt naked.

I had been thinking about how to do this since I had found all of the bathing goods. A bath would mean that he was going to have to get completely undressed and I didn't trust him to get clean enough to leave him alone. But I wasn't exactly eager to see him naked either.

I took a deep mental breath and steeled myself for what I had to do. Keeping my eyes on the water I spoke quietly. "Listen, Hunt, I don't want you to think I'm some perv or something but you're going to have to take off your clothes."

I could feel him tense from his seat behind me and heard him as he started to growl softly.

"I know but I have to make sure you get clean. I'll keep my eyes closed until you get in, then you can cover up with a towel in the tub." I said as I handed him a hand towel. I figured that would be big enough to cover up whatever God had bestowed him with.

Bless him, he understood that I felt awkward about this as he did. He took the towel from my hand I heard him stand up behind me. I snapped my eyes shut and concentrated on the water passing over my hand.

But it was hard to ignore his grunts as he tore the tape from around his arms and legs, freeing the sleeves and pants so he would be able to strip. He growled in aggravation as he fumbled with the zipper of his pants but a moment later I heard the fabric drop to the floor. To my amusement he was much less inclined to part with his hoodie than his pants. He hesitated a moment before I finally heard him fighting with the sleeves and soon the top joined his pants on the floor.

He grunted when he was finished and I turned around to see that he had wrapped a towel around his waist. I had sworn to myself that no matter what he looked like I wouldn't stare. Because of all the clothing hunters wore it was hard to tell what level of physical mutation the infection had caused. I expected them to be something akin to smokers, with boils and cuts all over his arms and legs. I expected that maybe his skin would be pulled away or have burns or other markings that would make his skin unrecognizable. I expected him to look like a monster.

What I didn't expect was for him to look so normal.

Or to have a fantastic set of abs.

Wow.

'_Snap out of it!'_ I scolded myself when I realized that I had been staring for a few seconds too long. I looked back at the tub and saw that it was getting full. I turned off the tabs and stepped back.

"You can go ahead and get in." I said as I moved away so he could get in.

He stepped forward and started to step into the tub before he stopped and looked at me. It was so hard to look at him now that I knew how he actually looked. I hated to stare at him like a piece of meat, it was so cliche, but dammit the zombie boy had a fine body! Even before the outbreak it had been over a year since I had had any sort of physical contact with a male beyond a simple hug from friends. Now, in a situation like this, it was hard not to stare.

Hunt must have sensed my inner turmoil (or simply seen the blush on my cheeks) because a moment later he was smirking and twirled his finger. The bastard wanted me to turn around! I couldn't help but laugh and glare at him playfully.

"I see you've learned more than you've let on." I joked as I turned my back to him so he could settle into the tub with privacy.

Behind me I heard him laugh as he settled into the tub as gently as he could. I heard the water splash a little as he sat and got comfortable. It took him a few moments but he grunted at me soon after saying that I could turn around.

He'd tossed his towel onto the toilet and had settled into the tub with the smaller hand towel placed over his private areas. He had also positioned his legs so that it would be hard for me to see, even if I was looking. Which I wasn't! I refused to look at anything below his hips and above his knees.

As I had noticed before with his face, the rest of his body was pale from the illness that plagued the country. He did have a lot of scars and what looked like bullet wounds. I noted the freshest looking one on his shoulder from Eliza's gun. It was healing up quite nicely, although there would definitely be a scar there afterwards.

There were also burns, at least that's what they looked like, but I couldn't tell from what. I suspected it was similar to the boils that grew on other infected, just not as bad. Maybe it was because hunters wore long clothing that their skin wasn't blistered like the others. Or maybe this strand of the infection simply didn't cause such a great amount of physical deformation like it had on others. There were so many possibilities.

Hunt grumbled a little as he waited on me to get started. He began fumbling with the bar of soap I'd set to the side, trying to hand it to me.

"Here, I got it." I said as I grabbed it and dunked it into the water before lathering it up. Now the really hard work began.

I scrubbed his skin hard, pushing the lusty thoughts from my mind as I scrubbed his shoulders and chest. The dirt and grime came off easily and I was thankful, again, for his long sleeves and pants. His clothes had taken the bulk of the filth, meaning he wasn't too incredibly dirty. But some of the cuts were still dirty and I took extra care to clean them.

"How did you get all these cuts?" I asked as I cleaned out a particularly nasty one on his back. It wasn't likely that any human had done this.

He tensed and growled a little before he pointed to himself.

"You did this? Hunt, honey, there is no reason to hurt yourself!" I exclaimed. I could understand why he might want to, but I couldn't stand the thought of him doing this to himself.

Quickly he shook his head and then motioned to himself and then his clothes piled in the corner of the room. I blinked a few times, not understanding what he meant. Had he done this when he was trying to get his clothes off? But these cuts were older.

"I don't understand." I said, shaking my head to him.

He huffed and turned to face me, setting his face the way he did when he tried to speak.

"Hhh...hhuuu...eeer. Hhunneer!" He tried, his voice scratchy and shrill. Then he pointed to himself again.

"Huner?" I repeated in confusion. Then it dawned on me. "Hunter? Another hunter did this to you?"

He nodded in the affirmative, grimacing. While I was glad that he hadn't done this to himself, knowing that another of his kind had didn't really make me feel any better.

"Why? Don't y'all work together?" I asked again as I started to wash his hair. Thank God it was shorter. Cleaning it wouldn't take nearly as long as mine had.

Hunt hissed, but not at me. He shook his head and growled and I could see his claws flexing beneath the water. He looked at me again and set his hand against my chest, just above my heart. I gulped and ignored the fact that he was getting my shirt wet.

"Me? You were fighting over me?"

He shook his head again and touched the area above my heart again. Then he grabbed my wrist and lifted it to his mouth, where he pretended to bite it. He repeated this a few more times until I caught on.

"Humans. You were fighting over your next kill?"

He looked away from me and nodded, as if he was ashamed to admit the truth. He didn't want me to know that he stalked, killed, and ate humans. I'll admit it wasn't exactly a thrilling thought.

"Well, did you at least win?"

The smirk he gave me told me that I didn't want to see what the other guy looked like. Great. That didn't exactly make me feel any better.

"As long as no other hunters show up and try to eat me." I muttered as I lathered up his hair with shampoo, making sure I scrubbed his scalp hard.

He growled again but I barely recognized it as the sound. It was a low pitch that I had never heard him make before. Of course that didn't mean that it wasn't familiar. My body reacted before I could and I instantly froze, my muscles tensing as I went on alert. That growl I had heard a hundred times before while running through the city. That sound was a challenge, daring anyone to take the creature on.

Hunt noticed his mistake and quickly silenced himself, humming an apology in the back of this throat. I simply nodded and quickly went back to work, scrubbing his scalp to get it clean. We sat in silence for a while after that, only the sounds of our breathing and the splashing of the water as I rinsed and began to scrub his hair again.

"Alright. I think you're done. I trust that you can dry and dress yourself without my help?" I asked as I straightened up. He nodded and I unplugged the bath so it could begin to drain. I noticed him starting to stand and I quickly turned and let myself out.

While Hunt changed I popped open a giant can of ravioli (as promised) and decided to boil some water and make some pasta for myself. It would be a good way for us to relax after a hard day. As my water was boiling (thanks to my handy dandy, battery operated, portable oven coil) I heard Hunt come out of the bathroom and start shuffling around close to the beds.

"I put you a change of clothes on the bed." I called out to him and heard him pulling his clothes on seconds later. I was stirring the noodles when he came in, wearing his jacket open and pair of jeans that I was glad to see that fit him well. I had been forced to guess on his size.

"Your ravioli is over there." I said, pointing to the bowl on the counter. He instantly grabbed it and started fishing the pasta out with his fingers, using his claws the skewer them to the ends of his fingers. I chuckled as I tested my pasta and finally decided it was good enough for me and started to strain it over the sink.

With my food finished and sitting in my own bowl I jumped onto the counter next to him and hesitantly sniffed Hunt's hair. He smelled...normal. Not like a zombie but not like a male model either. I was quite satisfied with that. He looked up at me curiously when he heard me sniffing, meat sauce smeared around his mouth.

"You smell good." I told him as he licked his mouth clean. He leaned up and sniffed me too and seemed to purr happily, saying that he agreed that I did as well. I grinned happily. "See, I told you it would be worth it."

He sighed and growled softly, relenting that I had been right, for once. Maybe this meant he wouldn't give me such a fight next time. Suddenly, much to my surprise, he lifted a ravioli from his bowl and held it up to me in silent offering. I leaned forward and popped it into my mouth, savoring the tomato sauce and warm meat. It was a nice treat.

"Be careful now or I'm going to make you share that with me from now on." I warned him as he went back to eating. But, despite the threat, he simply smiled up at me, teeth sharpened to dangerous points. I laughed and scoped a few noodles into my fingers and offered it to him. He opened his mouth and I dropped them in, laughing as he struggled to get a rouge noodle back into his mouth.

We sat there, freshly cleaned, and feeding each other and ourselves, laughing for a few more minutes before we retreated to our bedroom for the remainder of the night. I sat up and read while he slept next to me. And, for a little while, everything felt normal.

* * *

I apologize for the delay. My mother passed away at the end of June and it has been a very long and difficult road for me and my family to walk on since. Things are slowly returning to something that resembles normalcy and I feel like I should keep trying to work on this. Thankfully I had most of this written already so there wasn't much to add on except a sappy ending.

With work and school, I'm not sure when I will be able to update again, but I haven't abandoned this story completely. So please be patient. Thank you.


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